Overdue Catalyst (Ianthony)
by smoshersnorlax
Summary: When Kalel leaves him at the altar, Anthony is devastated. However, the cancelled wedding won't stop him from going on his honeymoon and he definitely isn't planning to go alone.


The best day of your life; that's what a typical wedding day is supposed to be like. All those months of preparation and anticipation finally coming together. It doesn't even matter that the florist got the flower arrangement wrong or that the chocolate fountain is a bit lopsided, all that matters is that you're finally being united with your significant other. That's how it should have been. Instead, here he was, sitting alone in the dressing room with a crumpled handwritten note in his hand. When he has first noticed it on the desk, he immediately started smiling to himself as he recognised the familiar handwriting, thinking that they were going to be sweet words of encouragement. His smile quickly faded though as he read the message:

_I'm so sorry Anthony but I just can't go through with it. I can't marry you. Things haven't been right between us for a while now and I truly believed that getting married would fix things but it won't. You can't paint over something that's broken. I hope one day you'll be able to forgive me,_

_Kalel xx_

He read it, then read it again, and kept reading it until the worlds blurred together on the page. A million questions were running through his head. How could she do this? How could she just leave him like that, after everything they had been through. She didn't even have the decency to say it to his face. Sudden rage flashed through him and before he was even aware of his own actions, he threw his wine glass across the room. The sound of the glass shattering against the wall was almost soothing to his ears; for once he wasn't the one being broken. The glass fragments glinted dangerously in the sunlight streaming through the window, taunting him. He was already starting to regret breaking the only glass in the room; he really needed another drink. With a heavy sigh he sat back down in the chair and ran a hand through his carefully styled hair, causing it to stick up at odd angles. Not that it mattered. His appearance was the least of his concerns at the present time.

A tentative knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts. "Are you okay in there? I thought I heard something." Not able to bring himself to speak, Anthony walked over and opened the door himself. He was immediately greeted by the concerned expression of his best friend. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"She..." He couldn't even get past the first word without his throat closing up. Instead, he wordlessly handed Ian the piece of paper. A tense silence filled the air as Ian read the note and looked up at him in shock.

"I'm so sorry Anthony," he whispered and Anthony nodded numbly in response. He felt Ian's arms pull him in for an embrace but he barely registered what was going on. It didn't feel real.

He sighed and pulled away, focusing his gaze on the carpet. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. There's all those people out there waiting and I can't..." Anthony trailed off, hoping that Ian would understand what he meant.

Ian nodded in acknowledgement. He understood perfectly. "Don't even worry about it. I can sort things out."

Anthony bit his lip and shook his head, trying to keep his emotions from being too obvious. He didn't want to break down here, and certainly not in front of Ian. Not now. "I just need to get away from here, to be honest."

He stuffed the piece of paper in his back pocket and loosened his tie, leaving it hanging like a noose around his neck. "We can leave through the back so you don't have to deal with everyone else straight away and I'll take you home," Ian said.

Slowly, he nodded. "Okay."

Ian's stomach twisted into a knot as he glanced at Anthony's expression and put his arm around him for comfort. This was only the beginning; he had no idea how they would begin to sort this out.

Their journey was silent as they walked through to the back of the building, thankfully not encountering any suspicious guests. That was the last thing Anthony needed at this point.

Sighing to himself, Ian slowly pulled the car out of the parking lot, the gravel crunching under the tyres as they drove away. As they cruised along on the road, Ian couldn't help stealing glances at his friend to see how he was holding up. He had no idea what to say. It's not as if either of them had been through something like this before. Break ups are one thing, but leaving someone at their wedding? He couldn't even begin to comprehend it. All he could do was offer his support and be there for him.

As the silence stretched out between them, Anthony felt the urge to hear something, anything, so he turned on the radio. The bubblegum pop that filled the car was welcome compared to the thoughts that were clouding his head. Looking out of the window, he tapped his fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the song and nodded his head. He didn't even particularly like the song but he wasn't in the mood to be fussy. He turned his head just in time to see Ian smiling at him and he surprised himself by smiling back. Despite everything, he didn't feel as bad as he thought. Sure, the worst was yet to come but at least he wasn't alone.

His brief happy mood diminished as they pulled up to his apartment. He was dreading going inside; there were too many fresh reminders. Everything would still be the way they had left it, as if she had never left him at all. Sensing his hesitation, Ian looked at him. "You okay?"

Anthony took a deep breath before answering. "I will be. Eventually."

"Okay," Ian said quietly and opened the car door. He waited for Anthony to do the same and they made their way up to the apartment.

Opening the door to reveal the interior of the apartment felt like being slapped in the face. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but everything looked exactly the same. Kalel's things were still there, his things were still there, and it looked so wrong. What had once been a comfortable living arrangement was now just an illusion and things were about to change very soon. Rubbing a hand over his face, Anthony went straight to the bedroom. He made a point of ignoring the matching bathrobes that were lying on the double bed and went straight to his closet for a change of clothes. The sooner he was out of his wedding outfit, the better.

Dressed in his familiar jeans and a plain shirt, he stepped out into the living room where Ian was currently sitting on the cream sofa. He was surprised to see that Ian had already gotten changed before remembering that he always kept spare clothes over at their apartment anyway. "Aw, I'm gonna miss seeing you in your tux," Anthony grinned at him.

"I could say the same thing about you," Ian retorted.

"Well, yeah, but we all know that you're way better a pulling off a suit," Anthony smiled as he suddenly remembered something. "Remember when we went to our first movie premiere?"

"I remember how pissed you were that the tag had been left on your blazer," Ian smirked, teasing him.

"That was so unfair," Anthony shook his head at the memory. "I had been looking forward to wearing it for weeks and then that happened."

Ian laughed. "God, you are such a girl."

Instead of responding, Anthony pulled a white envelope out of his pocket and placed it in the coffee table in front of them. "What's that?" Ian asked him.

"Open it." Ian did just that and raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw what was inside. Two tickets to Japan. For a honeymoon that wasn't even going to happen.

"What are you gonna do? Is it too late to get a refund?"

Anthony exhaled loudly. He had been toying with the idea in his mind when he came across the tickets earlier, but he didn't want Ian to talk him out of it. "Actually, I'm gonna go."

"Seriously?" Ian asked.

"I'm being serious," Anthony said. "I paid for it and it's already crap enough having my wedding cancelled. Why should I miss out just because things didn't go to plan?"

He could see that Anthony had a point but it still seemed like a rash decision to go to Japan on your own. Especially when your mind is still trying to process what had just happened. "I don't think you should make any rash decisions," Ian began but Anthony was quick to interrupt.

"I'm going," he said emphatically. "I really want to do this. I just need to get away from everything for a little while. This break will be good for me."

Sensing that he wasn't going to win this discussion, Ian nodded. "Okay. If you think it's a good idea."

"I do," Anthony said, glad that he wouldn't have to make any further points on why he should go. "There's just one other thing."

"Here we go," Ian rolled his eyes, bracing himself for what Anthony was going to say next.

"I want you to come with me." Ian's eyes widened as he looked at his friend to see he was being completely serious.

"What?"

"Please Ian," he asked, biting his lip. "I really want you to come with me. You've even said how you've always wanted to go to Japan."

It did sound tempting but he couldn't just leave, could he? Even if it was only for a week. Anthony had been planning for it for months whereas he had just been put on the spot. Who was gonna look after Daisy when he was gone? Not to mention it was going to be a lot harder to keep on top of work if they were both gone at the same time. "I don't know...I can't just leave. I haven't packed or sorted anything out. What will I do about Daisy? I can't just leave her for a week."

"The flight isn't until tomorrow," Anthony told him, as if that gave them all the time in the world. "That gives us enough time to go to your place, get you packed and sort out something for Daisy."

Ian gave him a sceptical look which was met with pleading brown eyes. When he saw how vulnerable Anthony looked, he felt himself giving in. "Fine," he said which caused Anthony to grin.

"Thank you so much," Anthony reached across the sofa to engulf him in a hug. "We are gonna have an awesome time. I promise."

Ian extracted himself from the hug, mentally sighing at himself for being such a pushover. "I'm gonna hold you to that."


End file.
